Tip:
Highlight text to annotate it
X
Welcome friends. Today we will cover a few more APA style points, including use of personal
pronoun, punctuation, and abbreviations, among other elements. Let’s get started.
In a previous discussion it was noted that authors writing in APA style should avoid
bias. Eliminating use of personal pronouns such as I and we in academic papers also reduces
the perception of bias. It is the case that use of I and we in an academic paper is somewhat
misaligned with APA style since one goal is to promote writing based on research and theory,
rather than opinion and personal experience. Opinion and personal experience are not invalid
sources of information, but neither are they always appropriate for an academic writing
assignment.
With academic papers, avoiding the use of personal pronouns is often a matter or rewording.
For example, “I believe that effective classroom management depends on an engaging lesson”
may be rewritten as “Many educators contend that effective classroom management depends
on an engaging lesson.”
While it is preferable that authors avoid using personal pronouns as the subject of
an academic paper, it is permissible to use personal pronouns, like I and we, as the subject
of reflective, or commentary writing, such as entries for a portfolio or performance
assessment.
Besides ending sentences or showing decimals, periods are used on some abbreviations, such
as a.m. and U.S. Periods are also used to separate the initials of authors from the
last name of the author in the reference list, such as J. R. Smith.
Periods are not used in DC, as in Washington DC, or in APA as in American Psychological
Association, or in IQ as in intelligence quotient, or units of measure or time, such as cm, kg
and min.
The dash can be used to show sudden interruption. However, it may be better to use commas, or
perhaps reword. Frequent use of dashes is sometimes an indication that the wrong verb
has been chosen to communicate action. In summary – use dashes sparingly.
Quotation marks are used to show text copied exactly from a source. For example, Hansen
and Quinn (1992) suggest that, ‘most Greek words had one syllable” (p. 6). In this
direct quotation, Hansen and Quinn are the authors of the book; 1992 is the publication
date; and the quote begins after the first set of quotation marks – “most Greek words
had one syllable” has been copied exactly from the book by Hansen and Quinn. Every direct
quote must be concluded with the page number of the book it is copied from. In this example,
the sentence ends with parenthesis page 6, close parenthesis, period. The period ends
the sentence.
Quotations can be used to show the title of an article when it is used in the paper. However,
it is uncommon to identify articles - or books - in a paper in APA style. Rather, the authors
last name is used for citation purposes. In summary, using quotation marks to identify
an article is rare.
Quotations should be avoided for showing expression or for clarifying potentially confusing terms.
Instead, use italics to show expression or clarify potentially confusing terms.
Use apostrophe s to show possession when the subject is singular, as in “Fred’s son”
meaning, the son belonging to Fred. When the subject is plural and ends in s,
add apostrophe, such as “students’ thinking” or “teachers’ classrooms.”
Ancient names like Moses, Jesus, and Isis can show possession either with apostrophe
s, or s apostrophe. Better yet, reword to show possession, such as “sayings of Jesus.”
Hyphenation is another consideration. Phrases like 12th-grade, and two-way are hyphenated.
However, some prefixes such as non, un, multi, and pre do not require hyphenation. Authors
can check the APA manual for a set of rules involving hyphenation but the list shown here
covers most of what authors need to know about hyphenation.
Use italics to show the title of books, periodicals, and films when they are referenced in the
paper, such as The Return of the King and Red Dawn.
Italics can also be used to introduce key terms, like the title of a lesson or activity,
or they can be used to introduce potentially confusing terms, such as “Students completed
an activity titled Jigsaw.”
Abbreviations are common in many disciplines, especially education. When using abbreviations,
spell them out the first time they are used in the paper.
Follow the spelled-out definition in parenthesis with the letters used for the abbreviation.
Then, use the abbreviation every time afterward in the paper.
Here are two examples. The first shows “Common Core State Standards” spelled out, immediately
followed by parenthesis CCSS and close parenthesis then a period to end the sentence. Notice
in the example that CCSS is used from then on. The second example shows the same set
of rules, but with multiple abbreviations.
A few common Latin abbreviations used in APA include i.e., meaning that is, e.g. meaning
for example, and vs. meaning versus.
Numbers 10 and above are written in their numerical form. The numerical form is also
used if the information being reported is a score, date, or someone’s age. Numbers
nine and below are spelled, rather than shown in their numerical form.
Do not begin a sentence with a numerical representation of a number. Rather, spell out numbers when
they are used to begin a sentence, such as “Forty students participated in the lesson….
This concludes our discussion of a few APA style points. Thanks for joining me.